Orthogonal Images Concealed Within a Responsive 6-Dimensional Hypersurface

A photochemical printer, equipped with a digital micromirror device (DMD), leads to the rapid elucidation of the kinetics of the surface-initiated atom-transfer radical photopolymerization of N,N-dimethylacrylamide (DMA) and N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) monomers. This effort reveals conditions where polymer brushes of identical heights can be grown from each monomer. With these data, hidden images are created that appear upon heating the substrate above the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of polyNIPAM. By introducing a third monomer, methacryloxyethyl thiocarbamoyl rhodamine B, a second, orthogonal image appears upon UV-irradiation. With these studies, it is shown how a new photochemical printer accelerates discovery, creates arbitrary patterns, and addresses long-standing problems in brush polymer and surface chemistry. With this technology in hand a new method is demonstrated to encrypt data within hypersurfaces.

Automated summary

The study utilizes a photochemical printer equipped with a digital micromirror device to rapidly investigate the kinetics of photopolymerization of two monomers, revealing conditions for growing polymer brushes of identical heights. Hidden images are created on substrates, and a new method for encrypting data within hypersurfaces is demonstrated.